Beyond Limitations
by Esprit de L'eau
Summary: They met under normal circumstances but the laws forbid them to be together. Especially if Hikari is the Princess of the kingdom and he is a commoner. Mainly IkariShipping
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Nintendo owns all Pokemon characters

**A/N:** Despite having owe chapters for Roles Reversal and La Soleil et La Lune, I actually have to time to write a whole new fanfic XD Just to let people know that, no I'm not dead yet. Sorry to my SPPF community for being MIA so long. Contains spoilers for the latest Pokemon Ranger 3 game as I used some people and references to Tracks of Light. I'm retaining my habit of using Japanese names here but fret not, for this time I _actually_ remembered to type out each and every Japanese name coupled with the NA names for better understanding at the end :D Anyway, the starting might not make much sense yet (because it was written when I'm still in the depths of my writer's block and didn't really want to redo the whole thing again) but it gets better.

Unedited and unbeta-ed.

* * *

Haruka knocked the elaborate wooden door. "Hikari, the guests are here," she called out. No answer. She knocked the door again. "Hikari?" Still no answer.

She pushed open the door and looked in. A girl with long blue hair gazed out of the window, lost in thought. Her blue eyes reflected the confusion in her mind.

"Hikari?" Haruka asked. The girl obviously did not hear her. Haruka sighed. It had been over a week already. "Hikari!!"

The girl with blue hair jumped and turned around in shock. "Yes Haruka?" she quickly replied.

Haruka's face wore a frown instead. "Hikari, you're thinking of him aren't you?" Haruka asked. Hikari's eyes ventured to the floor. The brown-haired girl sighed. Taking a seat beside Hikari, she patted the other soothingly on her back. "Your mother won't be happy with that," she said as Hikari's head drooped a little. "I know how you're feeling. He's… not for you."

Anger flared within Hikari. "You're the same as my mother," she said angrily, blue fire blazing in her eyes. "You all think just because he's not some aristocrat nor a middle-class guy or even local so I can't have anything to do with him."

"Hika--," Haruka started but Hikari had already pointed to the door. Sighing inwardly, she bowed down. "Yes, Princess." She left the room and closed the door behind her and walked down the hall. She had to find the only other servant here whom the Princess trusts as well.

Bright orange caught her eyes when she walked into the garden."Kasumi!!" Haruka called out. An older girl jerked her head back towards the voice. The owner of the orange hair put down a water hose and turned off the water supply. The plants can be watered later. The princess is priority.

"Haruka," she greeted. Looking down at the younger girl's troubled face, it was pretty much that issue again. "The Princess again, right?" Haruka nodded. Kasumi felt a major headache coming. "I'm SO going to kill whoever brought her out of the castle. Who was it again?"

_Flashback_

_Blue eyes defiantly stared back at black. "I said I want to go," Hikari said slowly._

_The boy ran a hand through his spiky brown hair. "And I said, no I'm under orders NOT to bring you out," Shigeru replied just as slowly. He knew that it would anger her. "Hikari, will it kill you to be compliant for once? I don't know how many wraths I've risked by smuggling you out for the past few times."_

_Sapphire sparkled back at him. "But they don't know, do they?" she asked playfully. When Shigeru still dead refused to agree to her request, she fell to her last resort. "Ookido Shigeru."_

_Shigeru winced. When she used that tone and people's full name, he really had no choice but to comply. "I said no," he answered before the princess could say anything. Although it was funny to see her fume. "It's a delivery and pick up round all the way to the borders of the kingdom. And that's where the slums are."_

_He knew she would not give up easily, and if the sudden jerk in the cart was any given indication, it was that Hikari had climbed in regardless of the warnings and refusals. Sighing inwardly to himself, he wondered how the princess would take care of the kingdom when her turn arrives if she insisted on being wilful. The cart rolled away and out of the castle gates, the princess safely concealed beneath the large cover that covered the cart._

_He stopped once they were safely down and away from sight from the castle gate. He flipped the cloth cover up and was face-to-face with a happy Hikari."I'm not taking responsibility for you, Princess," he said. "You're going to have to look after yourself while I'm gone."_

_The princess huffed. "For your information, I was going to accompany you with your errand," she answered. "There's been complains about the slums lately so I'm going to do a little personal investigation."_

_Well. That was new. "Suit yourself," Shigeru remarked. He stopped the cart just outside the slums and looked at the list of items given to him. "This way."_

_As Hikari followed Shigeru, she noticed how upbeat the streets were. Despite being horribly poor and living in pathetic conditions, the people here were living to the fullest and being happy. Shigeru's job was to mainly collect products for the castle, usually tools or to order something._

"_Why don't you go to the city square's industrial area to commission anything?" she asked him when they left a blacksmith's shop._

"_Because giving business to the poorer districts would help improve their lives," Shigeru answered. He stopped and pointed to a pottery shop across the street. "Now that shop happens to make the little pots and vases that you sometimes see along the windows. Before I started coming here, the walls were made of wooden boards. Now with the castle's business, the owner can buy bricks and cement to build a proper house." They walked a little further. "That is a glassware shop. They made the little glass crystals the castle technicians use to screw into the chandeliers in the halls. As well as display casings, or whatever you can think of. They used to collect discarded glass bottles and melt them down to molten form outdoors and shape the glass under terrible working conditions. Now they have a proper factory outside the housing area to do that and converted the old factory into a proper shop."_

"_Oh. Mother agreed to it?" she asked._

"_She said it was a fantastic idea," Shigeru replied. "After they have earned enough to move out of the slums district and are making profits in the city area, we'll still patronize them until we sourced another shop here selling the same items then we'll start helping that shop instead. Get it now, Hikari?"_

_Hikari frowned and hit his head lightly. "Out here, I'm Akatsuki. Got it?" she ordered._

_They went to another shop, a swordsmith's one this time. "Hey Shigeru," the owner greeted cheerily. He was somewhere in his early 20s, with messy purple hair swept back into a ponytail at the back of his head, standing much taller than her. The smile he had on was infectious. Hikari could feel that despite the harsh living conditions, he had made the best of it._

"_Reiji," Shigeru greeted in return. "About that sword whose blade broke off?"_

_The owner thought for a while before going behind a makeshift counter to pull out a long box from beneath. "Too much carbon in the steel, Shinji overlooked," he simply stated. "The steel became too brittle so it broke when too much force impacted it."_

_Hikari bent over to have a look. The same sword that Satoshi had broken in a duel with another knight from the nearby kingdom was fixed and gleaming. As if it had never been broken at all._

"_So who's your new friend Shigeru?" Reiji asked in amusement._

_Shigeru glanced at Hikari. "Some girl who works in the palace and insisted on coming along. She's new so I don't think it would be a bad idea to bring her out for a while. Her name's Hi—Uh, Akatsuki. I'll be outside to move the cart."_

_Reiji extended a hand towards her. "Nice to meet you, Akatsuki," he said._

_Hikari smiled and shook it. "Akatsuki Kurogawa," she replied. "You must be the talented swordsmith brothers who makes the swords of the junior knights."_

_Reiji nodded in affirmation. "I'm Reiji Tobari. I'm usually in charge of designing the swords and polishing them. Shinji here," he gestured towards a younger boy at work watching the furnace, "is the one who makes sure that the molten steel and carbon are of the right amounts. But and then again, being younger means you tend to overlook things and make mistakes." _

_The smaller boy turned and shot ice daggers at his brother with his eyes. But he kept quiet and turned his gaze back to the furnace. The younger brother was a little taller than Hikari was, with slim build. He wore a light green shirt smudged with steel oil and dirt. His hair, although not as long as Reiji's reached near his shoulders was left untied. His eyes gave off a determined glint but bored at the same time. He said nothing and returned to watching the furnace._

_Somehow, he fascinated the Princess. It was not the typical amusement when she heard another of Takeshi's failed attempts of settled life. "Where did you come from?" Hikari asked Reiji. "You don't speak like locals. I can't place your accent."_

_Reiji chuckled. "You're sharp Akatsuki. We're not local. We migrated from Oblivia to Shinou Kingdom."_

"_Oblivia huh…" Hikari repeated, her sapphire eyes shining. "How is it like?"_

"_Humid, boring and full of people with charity hearts," the younger brother answered. "It's suffocating to have every other person on the street come up to you and ask 'Hi, treating your relatives and pets right?' and proceed to lecture you about an entire handbook of guidelines."_

_Reiji turned to his brother. "That's how they were brought up and that's how we were trained to think," he corrected. "But yeah, Oblivia Kingdom's a little too happy and idealistic for us."_

_That made Hikari laugh. "So we're realistic in Shinou?" she asked._

_Shigeru returned just then. "Ok Q&A session's over," he announced. "We have to go back now, Akatsuki. You can talk to them another time. See you Reiji."_

_Hikari bowed gracefully and left after Shigeru. Shinji left his position and went nearer to the counter. "Who was that?" he asked._

"_Akatsuki? Shigeru said she was a servant in the palace," Reiji answered. "Think she might be dropping by again?"_

_Shinji grunted in reply and returned to melting scrap metal._

_

* * *

  
_

_Shigeru reminded himself never to bring the Princess out again. Especially not when something catches her attention. She talked on and on._

"_Real Oblivia natives Shigeru," she said, her eyes sparkling. "I've never been to the Paradise Kingdom before and what I heard best was third hand accounts from servants in the palace whose parents were from there. Do you think the Paradise Kingdom is as tropical as they claim? Well, Reiji says their culture is to treat all living things with respect which is partially why most of the people there are vegetarians. Professor Nanakamado mentioned that once when he went to Oblivia to meeting the Head of Science Park but still, it's got to be awesome. Professor also said they had to be mindful of their actions and so the streets are always kept clean. It's always been somewhat of a surprise when they announced that the next heir to the throne is their only daughter. Kind of like me I suppose but Princess Panema had both parents. Oh, and our Top Knight Tetsuya actually lost to their Top Knight once. I think their Top Knight was called… Natsuya? And guess what? He said that the Paradise Kingdom lives up to its name to have near zero percent low-class citizens and—"_

"_Princess!!" Shigeru cut her flow of words abruptly. "Yes I know your fascination with Oblivia Kingdom but I'm not the type of person you're looking for to hear you prattle on. When you get back to the castle you can summon Haruka or Kasumi or even Head Librarian Hanako to talk about it."_

_Hikari pouted. "You're no fun Shigeru."_

_Indeed the Princess kept her silence until they reached the castle where Hikari promptly ran up to the library to visit Hanako to ask more about the neighbouring country. In fact, the Princess was so enthusiastic about learning more that Hanako decided to introduce the recently arrived diplomat to Hikari. The girl had lived in Oblivia most of her life and was recently sent to Shinou for diplomatic talks. Hikari had bombarded the young diplomat with questions the moment they made acquaintance. Minami, the diplomat was visibly surprised and answered her questions politely and asked if the Princess would like to visit Oblivia someday. Hikari had immediately asked the Queen for permission. Queen Ayako agreed and allowed Hikari to go Oblivia only if the diplomat were to send word ahead and for a few servants to accompany her._

"_And you won't believe how polite the people there were," Hikari told Reiji after her trip. "Everywhere I go it's always 'Good day to you'."_

_Reiji stifled a laugh. "That's what they always do. Did you happen to come across a pink-haired girl called Sumomo? She works in the Science Park, under Physics department."_

_Hikari nodded. "Yes I know Sumomo. She's in the castle research team on some project to do with force and breaking stuff. Still, Minami won't let me get a good look…"_

_Shinji nearly dropped the hammers he was holding and Reiji barely managed to keep the glowing steel he was holding onto from falling to the floor. "You mean, Minami as in Head of Diplomatics Minami??" Shinji demanded._

"_Yep," Hikari replied._

_The brothers exchanged looks. "Why is Lady Minami with you, Akatsuki?" Reiji finally asked. "You're just a servant, right? And what's more you're addressing Lady Minami by just her name."_

"_The Princess went on a trip to Oblivia, and I was sent there too," Hikari explained as if it were obvious. "What's with the 'Lady' title though? I didn't hear anyone call her that. Always 'Minami, could you come here for a while?' or 'Your presence is requested, Minami'."_

_The brothers looked at each other. Shinji broke the silence. "You tell her."_

_Reiji picked up the heated sword and put it somewhere where he could continue tempering later. "Uh… Akatsuki, Lady Minami is not only the Head of Diplomatics, she happens to be Princess Panema's favourite subordinate. Being a favourite companion to the Princess alone is going to heighten your social status, as you already know. And also it's rumoured that the she's engaged to the Top Knight of Oblivia. Now that's going to raise her up ridiculously high in the kingdom, and so Princess Panema gave her the title of 'Lady'."_

_Hikari gawked. "That… That's something big she's done for Oblivia," she commented. "Minami's really young and she already represents a kingdom?"_

"_That's what you get for being raised in the castle since young," Shinji replied quietly. "Already born to an influential family, she's been taught politics as a child. Similarly that's the reason why the Top Knight of Oblivia is barely twenty-five. Sir Natsuya has been taught the code of knights ever since he was a kid."_

"_Don't mind Shinji, he's just depressed about his lack of karma," Reiji informed Hikari cheerfully._

_Shigeru chose that moment to appear. "Oi Akatsuki, time to go," he announced._

"_So soon?" Hikari groaned. "Well, ok…"_

_Only after the door closed did Shinji eye the closed door. "That girl, there's something up with her," he commented._

_Reiji continued sharpening the edges of a finished sword. "I know. Akatsuki isn't a normal person in the castle," he confirmed._

_Shinji's mind ran in circles as he fixed his gaze at the door. "Akatsuki… Huh…"_

* * *

A/N:

The ever-forgotten-but-remembered-this-time Name Legend and Explanation:

Hikari – Dawn. Her other name which she insisted Shigeru use outside, 'Akatsuki', literally means 'dawn' in Japanese.

Haruka – May

Kasumi – Misty

Ookido Shigeru – Gary Oak

Reiji and Shinji – Reggie and Paul. 'Tobari' refers to the city that came from in the anime, Tobari (Veilstone) City.

Satoshi – Ash

Oblivia – The new region which Pokemon Ranger 3 is based on. From the first few islands it kinda looks like a semi tropical paradise to me, therefore the name Paradise Kingdom.

Shinou – Sinnoh

Professor Nanakamado – Professor Rowan

Panema – the daughter of the Area Ranger in Pokemon Ranger 3

Tetsuya – Tyson, the Hoenn League champion. Top Knight is a rank assigned to the best knight in the entire kingdom.

Natsuya – The male playable character in Pokemon Ranger 3. That's because like most Pokemon games, the main character stops the evil organization and they're barely even teenagers!!

Hanako – Delia, Ash's mother

Minami – The female playable character in Pokemon Ranger 3. And fine, I admit to having some obsession with ObliviaShipping at the moment...

It's getting too long, like way too long. The draft I have in mind, isn't going to do this justice with the whole story compressed into some 6000 words. I get fed up reading a chapter more than 9000 words long and I won't begrudge anyone with the same. So I'm going to have to split this pretty oneshot up into a few pieces.

Basically, the story is somewhat based off a Vocaloid song called 'Floating Love Shining Moon' or 'Glamorous Moon'. The original song is sung by Kagamine Len and Megurine Luka.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Nintendo owns all Pokemon characters

**A/N:** Before anyone says anything. I have a LIFE. Considering the time I take to write this, is already a semi-miracle given my crazy amount of schoolwork (and my slacking habit). As such, this is NOT the final chapter. Actually... I don't even have an ending for this fic. I am open to suggestions though, to add on my a couple of endings I already have.

Unedited and unbeta-ed.

_

* * *

_"_That Shinji, whatever I say about Oblivia, he just HAS to retort with a smart witty sarcastic remark," Hikari fumed. "Not only that, everytime I go in there, he will be all 'staaaaare' and ask 'who are you?'."_

_Shigeru stifled laughter. "That's Shinji, Princess. Naturally good at sarcasm and unintentionally making people angry just by talking. Get used to it."_

_Instead the Princess fumed all the way until the next visit to the swordsmith shop. After much pleading on her part, Shigeru finally allowed her to collect the ordered swords from the Tobari brothers. The moment she walked into the shop the first thing she noticed was Reiji's absence. Only Shinji was around carrying sword boxes to the front._

"_Where's Reiji?" Hikari asked._

_Shinji looked up at her. "Can't you read the note?" he shot back, head tilting to indicate the direction of the mentioned note._

_Hikari turned in the direction. A sheet of paper was taped to the counter. On it was written, "Shop closed until Friday. Ordered and finished swords can be collected from Shinji. Reiji."_

"_Oh," was Hikari's answer. "But I still need the swords for the new batch of junior knights. They are done, are they?"_

_Shinji dumped some boxes on the counter. "There," he muttered and left the counter, leaving Hikari gaping in shock._

"_That's it?" Hikari exclaimed. "For someone older than I am, you sure lack customer service skills. Your brother never has any lack of it."_

_Shinji turned around and glared at her instead. "Shut up, stupid girl," he snapped. "You don't know anything."_

_In her entire life, Hikari had never been insulted once by anybody. While she had her fair share of scoldings from her mother, Ayako was harsh with punishments and defining what she did wrong and what she was supposed to do at best. She stood rooted to the spot and staring at the swordsmith. "What?" she demanded once her mind cleared._

"_You heard me, __**stu-pid girl**__," Shinji repeated that last two words slowly to get his point across._

_The expression on the blue-haired girl's face showed that his words had hit home. The next thing he knew, he saw anger flash through those sapphire eyes and she was launching herself at him, hands outstretched probably to hit him with. He easily dodged the incoming fist. As expected, Hikari missed and hit the wall instead. In a flash, Shinji backed her up into the wall and pinned her wrists by her side._

"_Let me go," Hikari grounded out, jerking her arms in a futile attempt to free them from Shinji's iron grip._

"_No," was the simple reply. "Unless you tell me who you are."_

_Hikari opted to kick Shinji instead. The space was small and therefore the impact was not much. "I told you for Arceus knows how many times, my name is Akatsuki. I work in the castle," she hissed._

_Shinji shook his head while smirking. "Liar," he answered. "You are no servant in the castle."_

_Cold terror shot through Hikari. "Say what you like, I'm a servant that that's all," she told him firmly, tugging her wrists again and hoping he would let go this time._

_Shinji, however, had different ideas. Still keeping Hikari pinned to the wall he brought up her wrists so that he could hold them there with one hand. "Akatsuki, after translation it means 'dawn'. The first light of the day. The main point here is light, which the name Hikari comes from. Hikari, the same name as the Shinou Princess."_

_He paused for a while, watching the young girl struggle to get free. "Also…," he continued to say. "The Princess is said to be an almost splitting image of the Shinou Queen. Ayako who is known for her blue__ colours__ of the kingdom. The Shinou flag is__ coloured__ in blue. The Queen herself has blue hair and blue eyes."_

_His free hand came up to twist a few of Hikari's hair over his fingers. "Blue hair and blue eyes, just like her daughter. And only one of a kind," he finished. Letting his hand brush over the sapphire strands and just below her right eye, he stared at Hikari in the eye. "Am I right, Princess?"_

_Her expression went from angry, to fear and back to angry. "W-… What are you, someone trying to pass off as some smartass detective disguising yourself as a poor swordsmith?" she replied angrily. She lifted her leg again, this time to knee him hard in the stomach. The sudden flare of pain made him keel over and released Hikari's hands. Hikari took the opportunity to run to the other side of the shop._

"_Damn you, stupid girl," Shinji forced out, focusing past the pain._

"_It's HIKARI to you," she shouted and clapped her hands over her mouth in horror._

_Shinji smirked. "Sure, whatever you say, __**Princess**__," he answered and turned away. Hikari took the boxes from the counter and fled the shop. Shigeru noticed her terrified expression and did not press further. He waited till the next time he visited the area without Hikari._

_Reiji was away, an extension from his leave from Shinou. He went up to Shinji who was hammering a red-hot piece of steel on an anvil. "What did you do to Akatsuki?" he demanded._

_Black eyes glared at brown. "You mean that fake servant?" he answered casually._

"_You.. Wha- How did… Argh, never mind," Shigeru stopped himself from saying too much. "So what DID you do to her?"_

_Shinji continued pounding away at the steel. "Exposed her identity?" he replied as he dipped the steel in water. The harsh hiss of water coming into contact with red hot steel filled the air. "Other than that, nothing else."_

_Shrugging, Shigeru turned and left the shop. He really had nothing else to say. Shinji somehow found out Hikari was the Princess of Shinou. Odds are Reiji knew about it as well. And then again they do not look like people to gossip. At least in Shinji's case. He would deal with the__ rumours__ when the time comes._

_

* * *

Hikari let out a groan of frustration. Haruka watched the Princess closely. Lately she have been shrieking in rage for no apparent reason, grumbling under her breath and Haruka heard a few choice words that made her relieved the Princess's behavior was limited to her private chambers only._

"_That.. jerk… thinks he has got every right to just shove me against a wall and ask 'Hey you're the Princess. Drop the act, what are you here for?'. Argh," Hikari balled her fists in frustration. "Just because the Princess from Paradise Kingdom visit the citizens dressed as a civillian does not mean here in Shinou we have the same laws. Sheesh." The blue-haired Princess let her body flop onto the bed._

_Haruka suppressed the urge to laugh. "I didn't know an outsider would make you so mad, Hikari," she concluded, the big smile on her face giving away her amusement. "Could it be…?"_

_Hikari spun around, hands already up in defensive stance. "No way. Absolutely NO way. That guy's a real jerk. If I were to like either brothers I would pick Reiji.. But everyone here will get heart seizure," she answered. Haruka said nothing but continued giggling._

_The next time Hikari gathered up the courage to revisit the slums was a number of weeks later. Only Shinji sat near the counter, looking bored. He scowled when he saw Hikari. "Look who decided to drop in," he announced. "I'm not bowing down to you."_

_Hikari rolled her eyes. "You don't have to," she replied, barely keeping her cool. "Shigeru asked me to pick up the new order. So where is it?"_

_Shinji glanced at the clock. "*Aniki, Akatsuki's here," he called out. Hikari was stunned for a moment. Did he just say 'Akatsuki'? She was hurtled back to real time when Reiji walked in from the back room._

"_Akatsuki! It has been a while," he greeted._

_Hikari frowned mentally. Something was off. "Uh… No need to be so formal, Reiji," she hurriedly answered. "We're friends."_

"_Yes but, you're the Princess. It won't be polite to be that casual around you," Reiji answered. Hikari thought she heard Shinji scoff. "Oh right, the order. It's cooling down at the moment. But if you can stick around for the next hour I'll be able to give it to you."_

_An hour. She had been through worse. Like, two hours of waiting for some speech from a foreign minister to end. "Okay, I'll stick around then," she answered._

"_Great. I'll just get back to work. Shinji, stay here," Reiji said before returning back to the back room._

_No sooner than Reiji was out of sight, Hikari launched her tirade on the younger brother. "Why did you tell him?" she hissed, keeping her voice low. "The last thing I need is everybody in this area knowing who I am and preparing some grand entrance whenever I step in here!"_

_Shinji who had tried to catch some shut-eye merely opened an eye to look at her before closing it. "On the contrary, he told me," he replied calmly. "Go sit down and stay quiet."_

_Hikari stormed to the nearest chair and glared at Shinji. "You're so no fun. It's a miracle if you even get married," she huffed._

"_I can hear you," Shinji said, fully awake and glaring ice daggers at the princess. "I'm only eighteen. Fully authorized to enjoy my youth before looking for some maiden."_

"_Huh. Remind me to congratulate the girl if you find someone who can stand you," Hikari replied in a bored tone. "I'm seventeen. And already my mother is looking for possible candidates from other kingdoms."_

_Shinji scowled. "It's not like I want to be here," he muttered._

"_Oh? The icy commoner has a dream," Hikari commented sarcastically. "Let's hear it." She got a look that told her to keep quiet._

"_It's the only trade we know, as far as Reiji was concerned. If we took up any other professions, we would need time to learn and practice, dwindling our already scarce funds. I wanted to start off in trading and retail but Reiji reasoned that we would need starting stock in demand and we already have some steel in our possession. If it were up to me, we wouldn't be sword forging in the slums."_

_Hikari listened quietly. "Why did you leave Oblivia?" she asked. "The laws state that all poor people will be taken care of by the kingdom and taught skills of trade. Our law is nothing like that."_

"_Our father," Shinji replied. "He was only interested in overthrowing the Oblivian government to call his own. Eventually he was caught for treason and those related to him were severely ostracized. Reiji always worried for me because I tend to take after my father in terms of behavior and thinking. Many were led to thinking one day I will be the one to resurrect the disbanded revolution army and lead them against the kingdom. So he sold off what we had in Oblivia. It was not a lot. The house were ours, but leading the revolution has led to large debts owed to others for arms. Reiji paid them off and brought me to Shinou. Before the revolution and while we were both happily ignorant about it, Reiji and I were taught sword-making. He decided to forge swords as a living. Shigeru found us one day after one of our customers visited the castle and managed to break one of their swords in a duel. Since then we gotten business from the castle and yeah, you know the rest."_

_The princess expression changed into disbelief. "You're related to Akagi?" she exploded. "Oh. That's…" Her sentence trailed off into nothing, finding herself at a loss of words._

"_That's in the past and has been for three years. If you don't mind, I would like to kill myself for telling a totally nosy girl about my past," Shinji snapped. He turned to look at the outside street, intent clear that the conversation was over and done with._

_Hikari was not going to let it end just like that. "I'm right here you know," she scoffed. "But just for curiousity's sake, how would you imagine your future to be if you were not forging swords here?"_

_A sharp glare was turned on full force at the princess. Shinji closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again, directing his gaze to the floor. "Maybe in some part of the main town. Have a wife. A couple of kids. Working as a merchant or a part of a large organization of businesses. Anywhere other than in the slums."_

_A clear laugh rang through the shop. Shinji looked at the princess in surprise. Hikari managed to calm herself down a few seconds later. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," she apologized. "That's a pretty achievable dream. And I expected something higher from you."_

_Shinji snorted. "Well, you're not the one to talk. You already have your future planned out. One day you will rule the kingdom. And forge a diplomatic relation with another country via marriage."_

_He noticed how the princess's face darkened at the prospect. "I can have my own ideas too," she shot back angrily. "I don't see eye to eye with my mother about my future. But nobody knows it except maybe a handful of servants and a couple of knights! Why do you people always assume one day I will ascend the throne with a husband with a foreign citizenship?"_

_Oh-kay. He did not expect her to answer so fiercely and gradually raising her voice until she was shouting. Surprise that Reiji has not appeared to see what the fuss was about. "Because it's the norm?" he asked, uncertainty in his voice. This was one untypical princess. In Oblivia, it was widely known that one day Princess Panema would choose a husband from within the country. If he remembered correctly, Princess Panema was constantly meeting some shipwright. Shinou had different laws and clearly Hikari disliked them. "So what is your grand dream, Princess?"_

_Hikari thought for a moment. "When I ascend the throne, I would establish a different ruling system. Like Kanto's. Prince Red declared democracy shortly after he took the throne. However there was some rule about protecting the royal family so that the royal line won't be cast out onto the streets. He also annulled the 'Royal only' marriage rule. He believes that nobody should be forced to live with someone else they didn't like for the rest of their lives, bound to each other only through a relation that only defines politics. I remember Red's sister, Princess Leaf telling me about it some time ago. My mother's going to get a heart attack but only I will call all the shots. I'll also annul the politics marriage thing. By then I would probably have found someone I really like and then marry him. My kids will all be taught the ways of politics and whether or not they get to make the rules is up to how much they can appeal to the kingdom. Also I'll clear out the slums and have the people relocated to better homes, set up an employment agency so that whoever needs a job can get one depending on their willingness to learn and their capabilities. Oh… I'm sorry. I was rambling."_

_An awkward silence fell over the duo in the shop. Fortunately Reiji chose that time to appear with the order for Hikari. "Here you go, Princess," he said. "Thanks for dropping by!" Hikari tied the boxes together and gathered the bundle in her arms. Smiling brightly at both brothers, she left the shop.  
_

_After Hikari was well out of sight, Reiji turned to Shinji. "What was that shouting about anyway?" he asked._

_"Nothing you need to know," Shinji scoffed as he kicked away a random box that was blocking the path, totally missing the all-knowing grin that crept onto his brother's face._

A/N:

The ever-forgotten-but-remembered-this-time Name Legend and Explanation:

Hikari – Dawn. Her other name which she insisted Shigeru use outside, 'Akatsuki', literally means 'dawn'.  
Haruka – May  
Shigeru – Gary Oak  
Reiji and Shinji – Reggie and Paul  
Panema - daughter of the Area Ranger in Pokemon Ranger 3 in the Japanese version  
Oblivia – The new region which Pokemon Ranger 3 is based on.  
Shinou – Sinnoh  
Akagi – Cyrus. The leader of Team Galactic  
Red – Male playable character in FRLG. He. Is. Friggin. Awesome 8D  
Leaf – Female playable character in FRLG.

*_Aniki_ – a term for an older brother.

**A/N:** Like I said, it's not the end of the story. I just happened to update because I wanted to update it. And yeah, no ending in mind as of yet x.x


End file.
